I have been answering so many questions about sunless tanning lately. I think with summer heat creeping in and the shorts coming out people are considering it. Sunless tanning has come along way in just the last 5 years that I've been doing it. It looks more natural than it used to and the formulas seem to be of much higher quality than they once were too. So with more and more newcomers to the sunless concept I thought I'd share my own personal sunless success strategy:

The secret to sunless tanning success is all in the preparation.

The night before or the morning of my spray tan I do the following:

• Shave
• Use a sugar scrub on the top and bottom of my feet and on my elbows if they feel rough. (100% pure body scrub is what I have.)
• Scrub my whole body (not face) with a body brush and natural soap (I like Dr. Bronners)
• Use my Clarisonic brush on my face with my 302 Cleanser.
• After my shower I moisturize entire body (not face) with 302 Body Treatment Lotion and use 302 Recovery lotion on my face.

Seconds before my spray tan:

•  I put an excessive amount of body lotion on the bottom of my feet and a little of it on my hands and wrists. (we keep this in the tanning room)
• I do not wash off my makeup since I usually only wear a couple light layers of mineral powder makeup and the spray tan soaks right through it nicely. If you are wearing liquid makeup I recommend removing it or not wearing it to your spray tan appointment.
• Once I'm done being sprayed I wipe off the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. I usually wipe the soles of my feet several times. (using baby wipes that we keep in the tanning room)

After my spray tan:

• I wait at least 8 hours to shower although it usually ends up being at least 12 hours just because of my schedule.
• I use moisturizer on my whole body (including face) after my shower. I alternate daily between body lotion and 302 Sunless Tanning Gel. This makes my tan look better longer and it tends to fade more evenly too. Also if you're shaving alot this will help keep color on your legs since shaving exfoliates some of the color off each time.
• I use the Swedish Foot File on the soles of my feet after that first shower and it tends to correct any spray tan that accidently got left on the bottom of my feet, plus it keeps my feet from looking rough and callus-y in my flip flops.
• On day 3 or 4 I use the body brush lightly on my whole body again. Don't know why but seems too make my tan look better, longer.
• When my tan starts to visibly fade, I do the total exfoliation all over and repeat daily until I feel most of the sunless tanner is gone.

Then it's time to get another spray tan!